The Quartet
by obsessivegirl73
Summary: "...she would have never guessed that she would become one of the most respected witches of her age and build the greatest magical school in all of the world..." Written for the 1 Character, 1 Prompt Challenge by Fire the Cannon and Round 1 of the Quidditch European Cup Competition by middleofsomewhere, both on the HPFC forum.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

_The Quartet_

When Helga Hufflepuff was a child, she would have never guessed that she would become one of the most respected witches of her age and build the greatest (well, she thought it was the greatest) magical school in all of the world. She doubted that Rowena, Godric, or Salazar would have either. Well, perhaps Godric. He was always one for wild dreams.

But anyways, when she was a teenager, she had discovered a girl her age in a nearby village who was beaten nearly to death for doing unnatural things. That turned into Helga's cue to do some of these said unnatural things to save the girl's life, gaining a small **scar** in the process. She had turned out to be a muggleborn named Rowena Ravenclaw, whose parents were both dead and left her with nothing except the clothes she was wearing and the chance to explore the world.

The two became quick friends, as is wont to happen when someone saves your life. Rowena constantly asked Helga questions about what magical life was like, as well as types of magic that she could use and how to expand her abilities. Helga always responded with a chuckle and showed Rowena what she asked for, always happy to help a friend. Rowena was happy to show Helga some of the magic she had created as well.

After a few years, the friends soon found that their abilities were being repressed from staying in the same place and they needed to leave and find out what the world had in store for them. Helga's parents gave their blessing, despite the two girls being only 19. The girls were granted money, food, and many hugs and prayers.

They discovered their first problem a few months later when they realized they were running out of the money they came with and needed to get a steady source of money. The easiest way to do this was to stop in a city to work for some time until they could save enough money to keep going. Only one place- a dingy bar- would let both of them work there together. There, though they did not realize it at first, they had met the next member of their group, a man named Salazar Slytherin. He was the owner of the bar, and as a true businessman he was always looking for ways to make the bar better.

The two women kept their abilities quiet, only using them when they were sure that nobody would be able to see. However, one day one of them slipped and someone with a very sneaky eye noticed and called them back to his office.

"Hello, Mister Slytherin, what can we do for you today?" Helga politely asked.

He quirked an eyebrow, "Is there anything you've been keeping secret from me?"

Both girls frowned- Rowena in realization and Helga in confusion.

He decided to give them a hint, "Like perhaps you have been using magic to clean the tables?"

"Magic? What are you talking about?" Helga inquired, quite well she thought.

"You're awful at lying, Helga. I wish I had known you were magical sooner. It would have made this so much easier."

"You're not going to fire us, are you sir?" Rowena asked, **tempted** to do something drastic to keep the job.

"Fire you?" He looked slightly surprised at the notion, "I was not planning on it, for I am magical as well."

Surprise flooded the faces of the two.

"So, what I would like to propose is that in exchange for me not revealing this to the villagers is that you two teach me types of magic that I have not learned before. If I am pleased with what I learn, I may teach you some magic as well."

Rowena looked surprised, "Of course! I would be willing to do it regardless of the threat."

Helga smiled and nodded, "Likewise. We came on this journey to expand our abilities."

And so, a couple of years passed, leaving the three of them even more knowledgeable and deeper friends, with the girls not once thinking about leaving to continue an exploration.

One cold winter day, an obviously already drunk man staggered into the bar and ordered a firewhiskey.

Rowena was working the bar at the time while Helga worked tables, "Sir, do you mean whiskey or ale, perhaps?"

"No, I want some firewhiskey! I didn't stumble into some muggle bar, did I? Well, shit. I'll have to obliviate everyone's memories...," the redhead started to pull out some object, but Rowena reacted by using her magic to grab it before he could do anything.

"Well, great, now I know I really am drunk, I hallucinated that the barmaid somehow got my wand without touching it."

Rowena was now very suspicious, "Sir, would you like to get a room and stay overnight?"

The man looked at her with bleary eyes, "Uh might as well...I'll pay in the morning..."

She quickly got out from behind the counter and all but dragged him into an open room and dumped him on the bed, hiding the fact that she locked the door from the outside.

The next morning, Salazar, Helga, and Rowena were all huddled around the door, trying to discover what the man's secret was.

"Shit, I've got a headache. It's so bright in here. Where's my wand? Oh shit. This could be a problem. I definitely need that back. Need to get my money. Need to get moving to find that city they mentioned At least I can still access my pouch- oh there's my _hat_- even if I'm awful at wandless magic..."

The three eavesdroppers gaped at each other. They had found another person who was magical! Rowena decided to unlock the door and see if she could glean more information.

Needless to say, the trio soon became a quartet and all four members were learning both wandless magic and magic with a wand, courtesy of a wand shop called Ollivander's.

Helga was pleased with how much she was learning, but still felt like she was missing something. The four of them were working the bar so they could have a steady source of income, but it just wasn't enough to make her feel thrilled with life anymore.

One summer day, Helga noticed a girl wandering back and forth around the street that the bar was on, half paying attention to her and half paying attention to the job. After about an hour of this, Helga got Rowena to take her shift temporarily while she went and talked to the girl.

She rushed over to the child and noticed that she was crying. "Hush, child, what is the matter?"

The child gulped and looked up at her, "My...my parents abandoned me..."

Helga immediately felt shock and anger grow in her. She could not comprehend why any parent would do such an awful thing to their own flesh and blood, "Why did they do that? No wait, come inside. I'll get you a drink that you are allowed to have and then we can talk."

Helga ushered her in, got her some milk and bread, let her eat a bit then asked her again, "Why did your parents a-" Helga couldn't bring herself to say the word, "-leave you?"

The girl mumbled something and started crying again.

"I cannot hear you, speak up, child."

"I'm...I'm...I do odd things..."

Helga quirked an eyebrow, "Odd things like-" Helga glanced around the bar quickly and through the **glass** windows to make sure no person besides the rest of the quartet was in viewing distance, "-this?" She used her wandless magic to levitate a napkin on the table.

The girl nodded miserably, "Yes, like that. They hate me," she started crying more before stopping suddenly, "Wait a moment, you did it too!"

"Yes, I did," Helga smiled at her, "I can take you in and teach you how to use this power, this magic, if you wish."

The child started nodding vigorously, "Oh, yes, yes, please!"

Later that evening, the rest of the quartet discovered Helga's promise.

"What do you mean we're adopting her?" Salazar was the least happy.

"Precisely what I say. She is magical and needs a home where she can learn magic."

Rowena frowned, "Helga, I know that as women we have motherly instincts, but is it really the best idea to take a child when we live and work in a bar?"

This was a new thought to Helga, "Well...uh...what do you have to say, Godric?"

He had been silent through most of this conversation, a first, but now he mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I have been supporting a magical child living in this village for about half a year now. I don't see why Helga could not do the same."

Two shocked faces stared at him, "You did WHAT?"

"Not did, doing."

"Well, I suppose Helga can keep this child, but she's going to have to earn her keep, and so on and so forth."

"Wait," Rowena spoke, "I have had an idea for a long time. We have so much knowledge, but we are not doing anything with it, which is a total waste. I have also noticed that there is a large empty field outside of this village that nobody uses, so I'm sure we could use it."

Salazar frowned, not liking where this idea was going, whereas Helga's eyes were still shining bright.

Godric looked confused. "What are you talking about, Rowena?"

"I want to build a school for magic."

**AN:** Well, that was really far off from how I was originally imagining this to be. And this completely changed my headcanon of the Founders. This was written for two challenges on the HPFC forum: the 1 Character, 1 Prompt Challenge by Fire the Cannon with the character Helga Hufflepuff and the prompt _hat_ and Round One of the Quidditch European Cup Competition by middleofsomewhere with the qualifications of it being a Founders Era oneshot with the prompts **scar**, **tempted**, and **glass** and the main genre being either friendship, tragedy, or adventure. (Go Holyhead Harpies! XD)

**Thanks for reading, and please review! :D**


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